[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 55 (Thursday, March 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14974-14975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5471]


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ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION


Information Collection Activity; Proposed Information Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, EAC announces the proposed extension of a public 
information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions 
thereof. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. The information collection tool is 
available on the EAC Web site (http://www.eac.gov).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before May 19, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations on the proposed 
information collection should be sent to the U.S. Election Assistance 
Commission, 1225 New York Avenue, NW., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 
20005, ATTN: Election Day Survey (or via the Internet at http://[email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to the above address or 
call Mrs. Juliet Thompson-Hodgkins, Ms. Karen Lynn-Dyson, or Ms. Shelly 
Anderson at (202) 566-3100. The proposed data collection instrument is 
available on the EAC Web site (http://www.eac.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title and OMB Number: 2008 Election Administration and Voting 
Survey; OMB Number Pending.
    Needs and Uses: This proposed information collection activity is 
necessary to meet requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301). Section 241 of HAVA requires the EAC to study 
and report on election activities, practices, policies, and procedures, 
including methods of voter registration, methods of conducting 
provisional voting, poll worker recruitment and training, and such 
other matters as the Commission determines are appropriate. In 
addition, HAVA transferred to the EAC the Federal Election Commission's 
responsibility of biennially administering a survey on the impact of 
the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The information the States 
are required to submit to the EAC for purposes of the NVRA report are 
found under Title 11 of the Code of Federal

[[Page 14975]]

Regulations (Chapter 1, part 8, subchapter C). HAVA 703(a) also amended 
the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act by requiring 
that ``not later than 90 days after the date of each regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office, each State and unit of 
local government which administered the election shall (through the 
State, in the case of a unit of local government) submit a report to 
the Election Assistance Commission (established under the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002) on the combined number of absentee ballots 
transmitted to absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters for 
the election and the combined number of such ballots which were 
returned by such voters and cast in the election, and shall make such a 
report available to the general public.'' In order to fulfill these 
requirements and to provide a complete report to Congress, the EAC is 
seeking information relating to the period from the Federal general 
election day + 1, 2006 through the November 2008 Federal general 
election.
    Affected Public: State government.
    Number of Respondents: 55.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Burden Per Response: 147 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 8,085 hours.
    Frequency: Biennially.
    To improve and facilitate the collection and analysis of the survey 
data, the EAC anticipates developing and providing to the States Excel-
compatible templates along with data format sheets/data maps that 
explain each data element being requested. The template format will 
allow respondents to upload and save data in a format that is readily 
available to the States. The completed template can then be sent 
directly to the EAC's contractor via email. The following categories of 
information are requested on a state- and county-level (or township-, 
independent city-, borough-level, where applicable):

Voter Registration Applications (From the Period of Federal General 
Election Day + 1, 2006 Through Federal General Election Day, 2008)

    (a) Total number of registered voters; (b) Number of active and 
inactive registered voters; (c) Number of persons who registered to 
vote on Election Day--only applicable to States with Election Day 
registration; (d) Number of voters who registered using online 
registration--only applicable to States that allow online registration: 
(e) Number of voter registration applications received from all 
sources; (f) Number of voter registration applications that were 
duplicates, invalid or rejected, new, changes of name, address, party, 
and not categorized; (g) Number of duplicate registration applications 
received from all sources; (h) Total number of removal/confinnation 
notices mailed to voters and the reason for removal; (i) Total number 
of voters removed from the registration list or moved to the inactive 
registration list.

Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)

    (a) Total number of UOCAVA absentee ballots transmitted, returned, 
cast, and counted; (b) Total number of UOCAVA absentee ballots not 
counted and the reason for rejection; (c) Total number of Federal 
Write-in Absentee Ballots returned and cast by UOCAVA voters; (d) 
Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted as part of the two-election cycle 
of automatic requests; (e) Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted as part 
of the two-election cycle of automatic requests that were returned 
undeliverable and submitted for counting.

Election Administration

    (a) Total number of precincts in the state/jurisdiction; (b) Number 
of polling places available for voting in the November 2008 Federal 
general election; (c) Number of poll workers used for election day; (d) 
Extent to which jurisdictions had enough poll workers available for the 
general election.

Election Day Activities

    (a) Total number of persons who voted in the 2008 Federal general 
election; (b) The source of the participation number--poll books, 
ballots counted, vote history; (c) Total number of first-time voters 
who registered by mail and were required to provide identification in 
order to vote; (d) Number of voters who appeared on the permanent 
absentee voter registration list; ( e) Number of absentee ballots 
requested, received, counted, and not counted; (f) Reasons for absentee 
ballot rejection; (g) Number of provisional ballots cast, counted, and 
rejected; (h) Reasons for provisional ballot rejection; (i) Use of 
electronic and printed poll books during the 2008 Federal general 
election; (j) Type and number of voting equipment used for the 2008 
Federal general election; (k) Type of process in which voting equipment 
was used--precinct, absentee, early vote site, accessible to disabled 
voters, provisional voting; (l) Location in which votes were tallied--
central location, precinct/polling place, or early vote site.

2008 Election Results

    (a) Total number of votes cast--at polling places, via absentee 
ballot, at early vote centers, via provisional ballots.

Statutory Overview (2008 Federal General Election)

    (a) Information on whether the state is exempt from the National 
Voter Registration Act (NVRA); (b) State definition of terms--over-
vote, under-vote, blank ballot, void/spoiled ballot, provisional/
challenged ballot; (c) State definition of inactive and active voter; 
(d) State provision for voter identification at registration, for in-
person voting, and for mail-in or absentee voting; (e) information on 
legal citation for changes to election laws or procedures enacted or 
adopted since the previous Federal general election; (f) State 
definition of voter registration; (g) Process used for moving voters 
from active to inactive lists and from inactive to active; (h) State 
deadline for registration for the Federal general election; (i) 
Information of whether the state is an Election Day/Same Day 
Registration state; (j) Description of state voter registration 
database system--bottom-up or top-down; (k) State voter removal/
confirmation notices processes; (l) Agency or department that is 
responsible for list maintenance; (m) Information on whether there are 
electronic links between the voter registrar's office and other state 
agencies; (n) State's use of National Change of Address (NCOA); (o) 
State's voting eligibility requirements as they relate to convicted 
felons; (p) Tabulation of votes cast at a place other than the voter's 
precinct; (q) Provision for voting absentee; (r) State tracking of the 
date of all ballots cast before election day; (s) Provision for mail-in 
voting in place of at-the-precinct voting; (t) Acceptance or rejection 
of provisional ballots of voters registered in a different precinct; 
(u) State process for capturing over-votes and under-votes.

Thomas R. Wilkey,
Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
 [FR Doc. E8-5471 Filed 3-19-08; 8:45 am]
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